When you decide to have a website built for your business, you will come across many different new terms. You will need to purchase a domain name registered to a DNS. The DNS will have your website’s IP address, which points to the hosting server that houses your website. That all may read like Greek, but don’t worry. Understanding these terms is much simpler than it sounds.
What’s a Domain Name?
Your domain name is the yourwebsitename followed by .com, .net, .org, etc., that people use to get to your website. Some examples are google.com, speedtest.net, and bigrigmedia.com. Think of them as your digital business name.
Just like you might register your business name with the Patent and Trademark Office, a “Domain Registrar” company can sell you a domain name, register, and maintain it on special computers. Like trademarks, domain names are registered exclusively to those that own them.
The special computers or servers that host your domain name details make up the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS hosts store two critical pieces of information that allow the internet to work–all registered domain names and their corresponding IP addresses.
Using the digital business analogy, an IP address is like the physical address of your actual business or shop, making DNS servers the digital phonebooks of the internet. Like a phonebook, their primary function is to carry a list of domain names and contact details.
Websites
If a domain name is your online business name, your website is like your digital shop or store– all the stock, shelving, advertisements, etc. In the case of a website, the “shop” is all the copy, photos, code, and digital files that make up that website. Everything inside a physical store must be housed in a building, so too must your website files be stored on a physical computer.
Website Hosting
To be accessible to the internet, websites must be stored on hosting servers. These special computers not only make your website accessible to people who type your domain name into their browser, but they also run the backend code of your site and are responsible for keeping your website files secure. The hosting server quality can also determine how fast your website loads for your customers.
Putting Domain Name Hosting, Website Hosting, And Websites Together
To have a website, you need a domain name that is pointed to a website host which holds all the files that make up your website.
When your customer types your domain name (yourbusiness.com) into their browser:
- Their computer sends a request to the DNS for the physical address of that domain.
- Once found, the IP address of the website host server is given to their browser.
- Their browser then uses that IP address to connect to and request the website files from the Website Host.
- Their computer then receives and displays the website on their screen.
It’s important to remember that not all website hosting is created equal! Many hosts use unsecure server control panel software like cPanel. You may also run into website hosts that don’t keep their Operating Systems, PHP, and MySql versions up to date, leading to poor performance and security issues. When you choose Big Rig Media to build and host your website, along with fantastic customer support, you get a premium website hosting service on a secure and constantly updated network, not open to the public, with 99% uptime.
Big Rig Is The Host With The Most!
At Big Rig, we’re technical at heart and go beyond designing and building websites to give you a reliable and secure website hosting experience you can count on.
Security, Speed, and Reliability
- We have a custom server installation for security and speed.
- Your entire site is backed up offsite nightly.
- We run virus and malware scans regularly on websites.
- You get a monthly website care report.
- Your website’s WordPress installation and plugins are kept up to date.
- Advanced server caching provides blazing-fast page loads.
- We also provide 24/7 monitoring of up-times, domain names, DNS, Secure Socket Layers, Load Times, and Server Processes.